(UPDATE) THE Iranian Embassy in Manila promised to extend assistance to the Philippines in its request for the release of 18 Filipinos on board an oil tanker that Iran seized in the Gulf of Oman this week, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Saturday.

'We're in touch with the Iranian government. The Iranian ambassador has promised assistance, so there's confirmation that it (the ship) was captured. So, we're just ascertaining the condition of our 18 seafarers,' DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Eduardo Jose de Vega said in a television interview.